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<p>The way Wyoming Seminary sees it, there&#8217;s strength in numbers.</p><p>For Wyoming Valley West, too.</p><p>And both District 2 champions and Wyoming Valley Conference powers will need all the firepower they can gather against two stingy opponents in the PIAA field hockey quarterfinals.</p><p>Valley West, 18-2 overall and ranked No. 18 nationally and No. 11 in the Pennsylvania/New Jersey Region by Maxfieldhockey, will face a 20-1 Selinsgrove team that won 20 straight games, is No. 15 nationally and No. 9 in the PA/NJ Region and coming off its 12th shutout of the season during a noon Class 2A state showdown at Central Columbia High School in a rematch of the 2017 season opener.</p><p>Just before that, 19-2 Sem, No. 16 nationally and No. 10 in the PA/NJ Region, will square off against a New Hope-Solebury team that is 20-1 and has surrendered just three goals all season, in an 11 a.m. Class A battle at Whitehall High School.</p><p>So opportunities for points may be at a premium.</p><p>But Sem plans on peppering the cage with plenty of shots.</p><p>&#8220;There isn&#8217;t any girl, or two or three girls, teams can concentrate on,&#8221; said Aubrey Mytych, who had a hat trick in Sem&#8217;s dominating 10-1 victory over Tulpehocken in Tuesday&#8217;s frigid and snowy state opener at Crestwood High School.</p><p>She&#8217;s right.</p><p>Her Sem teammates Alicia Carr, Julia Christian, Kelsey Reznick, Alex Wesneski and Hannah Maxwell all had hat tricks during the season, and all of them have double-digit assists through the year.</p><p>&#8220;If I&#8217;m not going to score,&#8221; Mytych said, &#8220;Alex, Kelsey, Alicia, Hannah, Julia all shoot great.&#8221;</p><p>The Wyoming Valley Conference champion Blue Knights, who went 17-0 through league and district 2 play, have roared through the postseason by out-scoring four opponents by a combined 37-3 &#8212; with those three goals against coming in the waning moments of three games.</p><p>That should present a mighty test for a New Hope-Solebury team that pitched 19 shutouts this season, sparked by defensive midfielder Claudia Koeppen. New Hope-Solebury, the Bicentennial Athletic League champion and District 1 No. 2 team led by career 100-goal scorer Sara Wilson, didn&#8217;t allow a goal until beating Jenkintown 4-1 in its regular-season final. It suffered a 2-1 loss to Gwynedd Mercy in the District 1 title game, the only time New Hope-Solebury has allowed more than one goal in a game this season.</p><p>&#8220;We just have to take one game at a time,&#8221; Wyoming Seminary coach Karen Klassner said.</p><p>How about one goal at a time?</p><p>Wyoming Valley West freshman Cameron Forgash scored early and the Spartans made it stand up in a 1-0 victory over Selinsgrove in the first game of the season for both teams.</p><p>Since then, Selinsgrove mowed down 20 straight opponents, rewarding coach Cathy Keiser with her 600th career victory while winning a ninth Heartland Athletic Conference title and 13th straight District 4 championship. The Seals did it on the backs of all-state junior back Elise Keeney and behind a team-leading 19 goals from senior Emily Swineford, who both played well in Tuesday&#8217;s state-opening 4-0 victory over East Pennsboro &#8212; Selinsgrove&#8217;s 12th shutout of the season.</p><p>Selinsgrove will have to contain a hail of bullets off the sticks of the Spartans, who spent most of the second half around the Upper Perkiomen circle during Tuesday&#8217;s 2-1 state-opening victory.</p><p>Seniors Foto Tsioles and Mercedes Jasterzenski along with freshman Karaline Stelma all have at least 15 goals, while Rina Tsioles (Foto&#8217;s sophomore sister) and Penn-bound defender Madison Woods have a knack for some sudden scoring.</p><p>And that doesn&#8217;t even include Forgash, who leads the team with 59 points and 22 goals, including an assist and a goal in Tuesday&#8217;s PIAA playoff opener.</p><p>&#8220;She&#8217;ll shoot when she can,&#8221; Valley West coach Linda Fithian said. &#8220;She takes advantage of the opportunity.&#8221;</p><p>It&#8217;s all a matter of being alert and finding chances, especially against defenses that don&#8217;t allow many.</p><p>&#8220;Probably just looking up,&#8221; Forgash said, &#8220;knowing where my teammates are and just staying on the post.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Seminary sees strength in numbers, as plenty of scoring options for the Blue Knights should help them in a PIAA Class A quarterfinal game against a New Hope-Solebury team that has surrendered just three goals all season. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_TTL110117FHLL-Sem_5-CMYK-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wyoming Seminary sees strength in numbers, as plenty of scoring options for the Blue Knights should help them in a PIAA Class A quarterfinal game against a New Hope-Solebury team that has surrendered just three goals all season. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>PIAA Quarterfinals</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Class 2A</p><p style="text-align: left;">Wyoming Valley West (18-2) vs. Selinsgrove (20-1)</p><p style="text-align: left;">noon Saturday</p><p style="text-align: left;">at Central Columbia HS</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Class A</strong></p><p style="text-align: left;">Wyoming Seminary (19-2) vs. New Hope-Solbury (20-1)</p><p style="text-align: left;">11 a.m. Saturday</p><p style="text-align: left;">at Whitehall HS</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Versatility key for Valley West, Wyoming Sem in PIAA field hockey quarters